Method of inducing an immune response by administering exosomes comprising Nef-fusion proteins

ABSTRACT

The present application relates to methods of producing exosomes. The application also provides a method for preparing a protein composition comprising culturing an exosome-producing cell expressing a Nef-fusion protein comprising a Nef-derived peptide fused to a protein of interest; isolating exosomes from the exosome-producing cell culture; and purifying the protein of interest from the isolated exosomes. The application further discloses compositions that comprise exosomes containing the Nef-fusion protein, as well as methods of using the Nef-fusion protein and exosomes containing the Nef-fusion protein.

This application is a Continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.15/660,572, filed Jul. 26, 2017, which is a Continuation Application ofU.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/327,244, filed Dec. 15, 2011. Theentirety of the aforementioned application is incorporated herein byreference.

FIELD

The present application relates to methods of producing exosomes, andexosome targeted expression of fusion proteins with predefined sequencesof interest for the therapeutic and diagnostic uses.

BACKGROUND

Exosomes are small vesicles 40-100 nm in diameter, that are secreted bya number of different cell types for communicating with other cells viathe proteins and ribonucleic acids they carry. Depending on theircellular origin, exosomes carry a uniquely distinct profile of proteins,which can trigger signalling pathways in other cells and/or transferexosomal products into other cells by exosomal fusion with cellularplasma membranes. The protein composition of exosomes is distinct fromthat of other organelles, including early endosomes and plasmamembranes, more closely resembling that of late endosomes ormultivesicular bodies, (MVBs).

Exosome release has been demonstrated from different cell types invaried physiological contexts. For example, it has been demonstratedthat B lymphocytes release exosomes carrying class II majorhistocompatibility complex molecules, which play a role in antigenicpresentation (Raposo et al., J. Exp. Med., 183:1161, 1996). Similarly,it has been demonstrated that dendritic cells produce exosomes (i.e.,dexosomes, Dex), which play a role in immune response mediation,particularly in cytotoxic T lymphocyte stimulation (Zitvogel et al.,Nature Medicine, 4:594, 1998). Further, it has also been demonstratedthat tumor cells secrete specific exosomes (i.e., texosomes, Tex)carrying tumor antigens in a regulated manner, which can present theseantigens to antigen presenting cells. The application of exosomes foruse as cancer vaccines has been reviewed by Tan et al., Int. J.Nanomed., 5:889-900, 2010.

Nef is a protein expressed by primate lentiviruses, such as HIV and SIV.Nef is known to be secreted in association with exosomes and has beenalso shown to be present on the surface of HIV-infected cells.Nef-expressing cells have a dramatically altered subcellular morphologyand have been shown to induce the intracellular accumulation ofmultivesicular bodies and the extracellular accumulation of exosomes.Exosomes have been postulated to play a role in the production of HIV-1virions. The so called “Trojan Exosome” hypothesis suggests that HIV-1particles can “piggyback” on the process of exosome biogenesis toprovide a means of transfer of infectious particles from one cell toanother (Izquierdo-Useros et al., PLoS pathogens, 6(3):1-9, 2010).Although some of the aspects of this theory have been questioned, theresearch has established a precedent for HIV-1 proteins being carriedout of the cell and from one cell to another via the exosome network.

There is great interest in exploiting the properties of exosomes fordiagnostic, vaccination, and therapeutic applications, including new andeffective methods for preparing recombinant proteins at an industrialscale, for vaccine preparation, and for immunotherapy. The presentinvention provides compositions and methods for exosomal expression ofrecombinant proteins.

SUMMARY

One aspect of the present application relates to a method for preparinga protein composition. The method comprises the steps of culturing anexosome-producing cell expressing a Nef-fusion protein comprising aNef-derived peptide fused to a protein of interest; isolating exosomesfrom the exosome-producing cell culture; and purifying the protein ofinterest from the isolated exosomes.

Another aspect of the present application relates to a method fordelivering a protein of interest to a target cell in a mammal. Themethod comprises administering to the mammal an exosome comprising aNef-fusion protein comprising a Nef-derived peptide fused to the proteinof interest.

Another aspect of the present application relates to a method forinducing an immune response in a mammal. The method comprisesadministering to a mammal an exosome comprising a Nef-fusion proteincomprising a Nef-derived peptide fused to an immunogenic protein ofinterest.

Another aspect of the present application relates to a method fordetecting a target molecule in a sample. The method comprises contactinga sample from a subject with a Nef-fusion protein that bindsspecifically to the target molecule, detecting a binding of the targetmolecule in the sample to the Nef-fusion protein, and determining alevel of the target molecule in the sample, wherein a medical conditionis indicated if the level of the target molecule is outside a referencerange.

Another aspect of the present application relates to a pharmaceuticalcomposition, comprising an exosome comprising a Nef-fusion proteincontaining a Nef-derived peptide fused to a protein of interest, and apharmaceutically acceptable carrier.

Another aspect of the present application relates to a Nef-fusionprotein produced by culturing cells that produce exosomes containing theNef-fusion protein; isolating exosomes from the exosome-producing cellculture; and purifying the Nef-fusion protein from the isolatedexosomes, wherein the Nef-fusion protein comprises a Nef-derived peptidefused to a protein of interest.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1A-C show co-expression of Nef with exosomal markersacetylcholinesterase (AChE) and CD45 release from untransfected andNef-GFP-transfected Jurkat cells. In FIG. 1A, 1×10⁶ Jurkat cells weremock-transfected or HIV-1 wtNef-GFP for 48 h at 37° C. Cell lysatesprepared therefrom were examined for HIV-1 Nef, AChE, CD45, and tubulinexpression by Western analysis. Columns: UT, untransfected Jurkat celllysates; Nef, HIV-1 wtNef-GFP-transfected cell lysates. Rows: Probedwith: Nef, HIV-1 Nef monoclonal antibody; AChE, AChE antibody; CD45,CD45 antibody; tubulin, tubulin antibody. In FIG. 1B, differentialcentrifugal high-molecular-weight pellets were examined for HIV-1 Nef,AChE, and CD45 by Western analysis. Columns: lane 1, 10,000×g pellet;lane 2, 50,000×g pellet; lane 3, 100,000×g pellet; lane 4, 400,000×gpellet; lane 5, 400,000×g spent supernatant. Rows: top two panel set:untransfected Jurkat culture pellet examined with AChE or CD45antibodies; lower three panel set: HIV-1 Nef-GFP-transfected Jurkatculture pellet examined with HIV-1 Nef monoclonal, AChE, or CD45antibodies. FIG. 1C shows densitometric analysis of the Western data(NIH Image J software analysis) in FIGS. 1A and 1B. AChE and CD45 banddensities from untransfected cells and AChE, CD45, and Nef banddensities from HIV-1 Nef-transfected cells were normalized againstintracellular tubulin, and to report combined 100,000×g plus 400,000×gband density units per 1×10⁶ cells. This is the combined data frommultiple experiments and the data were analyzed using Student's t-testcomparing untransfected values and wtNef-GFP-transfected values anddisplaying the p-values where p<0.05 is significant. Transfectionefficiencies for these experiments were 85%±2%.

FIGS. 2A-B show an analysis of the vesicular nature of secreted Nefprotein. Cells and conditioned media were collected from untransfectedor wtNef-GFP-transfected Jurkat cultures. Culture media were processedvia differential centrifugation, with spins at 1200×g, 10,000×g,50,000×g, 200,000×g, and 400,000×g. Both 200,000×g and 400,000×g pelletswere subjected to sucrose gradient flotation. Cell lysates, culturemedium, 50,000×g pellets and 400,000×g pellets and flotation gradientfractions were examined by Western blotting for Nef, GFP, and Alix. FIG.2A shows representative images from one experiment: Cell lysate (lane1); culture media (supernatant; lane 2); 50,000×g pellet (lane 3);400,000×g pellet (Diff. Cent.; lane 4); Gradient fractions 4-11 (lanes5-12). Gradient fractions 1, 2, 3, and 12, which had no protein in them,are not shown. FIG. 2B shows data collated from multiple experiments.Bands visualized on Western blots were measured by densitometry. Datawere analyzed using Student's t-test comparing Alix from untransfectedcell cultures and wtNef-GFP-transfected cell cultures, with p values<0.01 being scored as significant.

FIG. 3 shows a transient transfection strategy for identifying the Nefstructural requirements for exosome secretion.

FIGS. 4A-B show a schematic representation of HIV NL4-3 Nef mutantsgenerated for testing. FIG. 4A shows various Nef deletion mutants,including Nef: NefΔ31-206 containing aa residues 1-30; NefΔ1-12containing aa 13-70 but lacking the myristoylation site G2 and the K4K7basic region; NefΔ1-40 containing aa 41-70; NefΔ51-206 containing aa1-50; NefΔ65-206 containing aa 1-65; NefΔ71-206 containing aa 1-70;NefΔ91-206 containing aa 1-90; and NefΔ150-206 containing aa 1-150;NefΔ200-206 containing aa 1-200. FIG. 4B shows various amino acidreplacement mutants, including NefΔR(17-22)/4A, in which R17, R19, R21,and R22 are replaced with four alanines; NefK39P, in which K39 isreplaced with a proline to disrupt the helix; SS45,46AA, in which S45and S46 are replaced with two alanines; P25A, in which P25 is replacedwith an alanine; 29GVG31/3A, in which G29, V30, and G31 are replacedwith three alanines; T44A, in which T44 is replaced with an alanine;Nef⁶²EEEE⁶⁵/4A (PACS), in which E62-65 are replaced with five alanines;NefSMR/⁶⁶VGFPV⁷⁰/5A, in which V66, G67, F68, P69, and V70 are replacedwith five alanines (in wt as well as Nef13-70 background);SMR/⁶⁶AGFPV⁷⁰, in which V66 is replaced with an alanine; SMR/⁶⁶VAFPV⁷⁰,in which F68 is replaced with an alanine; SMR/⁶⁶VGFAV⁷⁰, in which P69 isreplaced with an alanine; and SMR⁶⁶VGFPA⁷⁰, in which V70 is replacedwith an alanine.

FIG. 5A shows the sequence of HIV-1 Nef showing structural domainsrequired for cellular interactions, including the basic amino acid 1 and2 motifs (BAA-1, BAA-2), helix-1 and helix-2, membrane targeting domain,PACS, and SMR motifs. FIG. 5B shows the sequence of SIV Nef showingstructural domains required for cellular interactions.

FIG. 6A shows truncation mutagenesis to determine Nef secretionsequences. The relative fluorescence of carboxy-terminal deletionmutants of Nef compared to the wtNef-GFP is shown. Media were collectedand assayed from the 48-h-old cultures of HEK293 cells transfected withthe wt, NefΔ31-206 (1-30), NefΔ51-206 (1-50), NefΔ66-206 (1-65),NefΔ71-206 (1-70), NefΔ91-206 (1-90), NefΔ151-206 (1-150), NefΔ201-206(1-200), NefΔ1-12 (13-206), NefΔ1-12 and 471-206 (13-70), NefΔ1-40 and471-206 (41-70), and untransfected HEK293 cells (bar 12). FIG. 6B showsreplacement mutagenesis to fine map Nef secretion sequences. Therelative fluorescence of N-terminal replacement mutants of Nef in the1-70 aa region and compared to the wtNef-GFP is shown. Media werecollected and assayed from the 48-h cultures of HEK293 cells transfectedwith wtNef, NefΔ71-206 (1-70), NefG2A, NefK4K7, Nef K39P, Nef³⁹K/P,Nef^(45,46)S/2A, NefP25A, Nef²⁹GVG³¹/3A, NefT44A, Nef⁶⁶VGFPV⁷⁰/5A,Nef⁶²EEEE⁶⁵/4A (PACS), Nef^(17,19,21,22) R/4A, and untransfected HEK293cells. FIG. 6C shows a newly identified domain on HIV-1 Nef. Therelative fluorescence of N-terminal deletion and replacement mutants ofNef in the 66-70 aa region compared to the wtNef is shown. Media werecollected and assayed from the 48-h cultures of HEK293 cells transfectedwith wtNef, GFP, Nef⁶⁶AGFPV⁷⁰, Nef⁶⁶VAFPV⁷⁰, Nef⁶⁶VGAPV⁷⁰, Nef⁶⁶VGFAV⁷⁰,Nef⁶⁶VGFPA⁷⁰, and untransfected HEK293 cells. FIGS. 6D-F show theNef-induced secretion domains function similarly in multiple cell types.Jurkat cells (1×10⁶) transfected with HIV-1 wtNef (bar 1), NefΔ71-206(bar 2), NefΔ1-12 and 471-206 (bar 3), NefΔ1-12 (bar 4),Nef^(17,19,21,22) R/4A (bar 5), Nef⁶²EEE⁶⁵/4A (PACS, bar 6),Nef⁶⁶AGFPV⁷⁰ (SMR, bar 7), GFP (bar 8), and untransfected cells (bar 9)(FIG. 6D), THP-1 (FIG. 6E), and U937 (FIG. 6F) monocytes by Gene PulserXcell Electroporation System (Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc., CA). Cellswere incubated in RPMI 1640 medium for 48 h at 37° C. and removed fromthe culture supernatant by centrifugation at 2000×g for 5 min. In allexperiments, the error bars show the standard errors of themeasurements. Transfection efficiencies for Jurkat cells (80-86.67%),for THP-1 cells (60-65%), and for U937 cells (55-60%). These results area compilation of at least three independent experiments.

FIG. 7 shows an alignment of the PACS/SMR regions of HIV-1 Nef. Aminoacid consensus sequences for 13 HIV-1 subtypes were determined asdescribed in Materials and Methods. The PACS-SMR consensus sequenceswere then aligned to illustrate the degree of homology in these requiredsecretion domains of Nef. Dashes (-) indicate gaps inserted tofacilitate the alignment.

FIGS. 8A-B shows that HIV Nef expression in cells is not toxic orapoptotic to transfected cells. HIV-1 Nef-GFP mutants were transfectedinto HEK293 cells at 37° C. for 48 h. Subsequently, the cultures werestained with propidium iodide (PI) to visualize the nucleus. Finally, acomparative morphological examination of the individual cells in thesecultures was performed to determine whether and how much cytotoxicity orapoptosis was observed in the transfected cells. In FIG. 8A, HEK293cells were transfected with HIV-1 Nef-GFP mutants and stained by PI.Columns: bar 1, mock, untransfected HEK293 cells; bar 2, pQBI-GFP,transfected pQBI-GFP; bar 3, wtNef-GFP (1-206), transfected HIV-1wtNef-GFP; bar 4, wtNef-GFP (1-70), transfected NefΔ71-206; bar 5,wtNef-GFP (13-70), transfected NefΔ1-12 and 471-206; bar 6, Nef-4R4A-GFP(1-206), transfected Nef^(17,19,21,22)R/4A; bar 7, Nef-PACS-GFP (1-206),transfected Nef⁶²EEEE⁶⁵/4A; bar 8, Nef-AGFPV-GFP (1-206), transfectedNef⁶⁶AGFPV⁷⁰. In FIG. 8B, HEK293 cells were transfected with HIV-1 Nefat 37° C. for 48 h and then cells were assayed by TUNEL. Columns: bar 1,pQBI-RFP, transfected pQBI-RFP in HEK293 cells; bar 2, HIV-1 wtNef-RFP,transfected HIV-1 wtNef-RFP.

FIGS. 9A-B demonstrate that Nef-induced vesicles do not displayattributes of apoptotic vesicles. HIV-1 wtNef-GFP and Nef-GFP mutantswere transfected into HEK293 cells. In FIG. 9A, cell lysates andvesicles collected from each condition were examined for histonesthrough Coomassie brilliant blue staining of PAGE gels. Lanes 1, 3, 5,and 7 are cell lysates from each condition; lanes 2, 4, 6, and 8 arepellets from cell lysates spun at 130,000×g. Lanes 1 and 2 are fromcells treated with 10 μM camptothecin; lanes 3 and 4 are from cellstransfected with HIV-1 wtNef; lanes 5 and 6 are from cells transfectedwith Nef⁶⁶AGFPV⁷⁰; lanes 7 and 8 are from untransfected cells. Hisdenotes the region of the gel containing the histone bands. In FIG. 9B,cell lysates and vesicles were analyzed by Western analysis for thepresence of histones (top panel set, histone antibody), GFP (middlepanel set, GFP antibody), and HIV-1 Nef (bottom panel set, Nefpolyclonal antibody). Lane 1, cell lysates; lane 2, 300×g pellet; lane3, 1200×g pellet; lane 4, 10,000×g pellet; lane 5, 130,000×g pellet.Individual panels of each panel set: top panel, Camp, cells were treatedwith 10 μM camptothecin; second panel, Nef, HIV-1 wtNef-GFP-transfectedcells; third panel, Nef-SMR (HIV-1 Nef-⁶⁶VGFPV⁷⁰/5A-GFP)-transfectedcells; bottom panel, UT, untransfected cells.

FIGS. 10A-D show that the effects of Nef mutants is not due to variabletransfection/expression efficiencies. In FIGS. 10A-10C, 1×10⁶ HEK293cells were transfected with 1 μg of HIV-1 wtNef-GFP for 48 h and thenfollowed by Western analysis of HEK293 cell lysates from wtNef or mutanttransfections. Cell cultures were transfected with pQBI-Nef-GFP (NefGFP;lane 1), pQBI-GFP (GFP; lane 2), pQBI-Nef⁶²EEEE⁶⁵/4AGFP (PACSreplacement; lane 3), pQBI-Nef⁶⁶AGFPV⁷⁰GFP (SMR replacement lane 4),pQBI-Nef^(17,19,21,22)R/4AGFP (BAA-2 replacement; lane 5), oruntransfected HEK293 cells (UT; lane 6). Cell lysates were collected andanalyzed by SDS-PAGE followed by Western analysis probing with anti-GFPantiserum. Representative images of several independent experiments areshown. The relative positions of Nef-GFP and Nef-GFP deletion mutants'cellular protein that hybridizes to the anti-GFP antiserum areindicated. FIG. 10D shows densitometry was performed and the readingsfrom multiple independent analyses are displayed as the averagedensitometric units for any particular assay with standard error ofmeasurement displayed.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used hereinhave the same meanings as commonly understood by one of skill in the artto which the disclosed method and compositions belong. It must be notedthat as used herein and in the appended claims, the singular forms “a,”“an,” and “the” include plural reference unless the context clearlydictates otherwise. Thus, for example, reference to “a peptide” includesa plurality of such peptides, reference to “the peptide” is a referenceto one or more peptides and equivalents thereof known to those skilledin the art, and so forth.

Method of Producing Nef-Fusion Protein

One aspect of the present application relates to a method for producinga protein composition comprising culturing an exosome-producing cellexpressing a Nef-fusion protein comprising a Nef-derived peptide fusedto a protein of interest; isolating exosomes from the exosome-producingcell culture; and purifying the Nef-fusion protein or the protein ofinterest from the isolated exosomes.

As used herein, the term “Nef-derived peptide” refers to the full lengthHIV Nef peptide (SEQ ID NO:1), the full length SIV Nef peptide (SEQ IDNO:2), a fragment of the full length HIV Nef peptide that comprisesamino acid residues 13-41 of SEQ ID NO:1 (i.e., SEQ ID NO:3), a fragmentof the full length SIV Nef peptide that comprises amino acid residues1-102 of SEQ ID NO:2 (i.e., SEQ ID NO:4), or variants thereof. A variantof the full length Nef peptide or the Nef fragment includes peptidesthat share at least 95%, 96%, 97%, 98% or 99% homology to the fulllength Nef peptide or the Nef fragment, as well as peptides that containone or more substitutions, additions and/or deletions that do notsignificantly alter the bioactivity of the full length Nef peptide orthe Nef fragment. In some embodiments, the Nef-derived peptide is a Neffragment comprising SEQ ID NO:3 or a variant the HIV Nef fragment. Insome other embodiments, the Nef-derived peptide is a Nef fragmentcomprising amino acid residues 13-70 of SEQ ID NO:1 (SEQ ID NO:5) or avariant the Nef fragment. In some other embodiments, the Nef-derivedpeptide is a Nef fragment comprising amino acid residues 1-70 of SEQ IDNO:1 (SEQ ID NO:6) or a variant the Nef fragment. In some embodiments,the Nef-derived peptide is a Nef fragment comprising SEQ ID NO:4 or avariant the Nef fragment. In certain embodiments, the Nef-derivedpeptide has a length of 30-70, 60-70, 70-150, 150-206, 30-102, 102-180and 180-263 amino acids.

The Nef-Fusion Protein

The Nef-fusion protein comprises a Nef-derived peptide fused to aprotein of interest. In some embodiments, the Nef-fusion protein furthercomprises one or more additional amino acid sequences encoding one ormore functional domains. Exemplary functional domains include, but arenot limited to, affinity tags, protease cleavage sites, targetingdomains, reporters, enzymes, or combination thereof.

In certain embodiments, an affinity tag may be included to facilitatepurification of the Nef-fusion protein and/or protein of interest byaffinity chromatography. The affinity tag may include affinity tag knownto those of skill in the art, including, but not limited to, glutathioneS-transferase (GST), Histidine tag (e.g., 6×His), maltose bindingprotein (MBP), Protein A, thioredoxin, ubiquitin, biotin, calmodulinbinding peptide (CBP), streptavidin tag, and various immunogenic peptidetags, including FLAG octapeptide tag, hemaglutinin A (HA) tag, myc tag,and the like.

In some embodiments, proteolytic cleavage sites may be engineered intothe Nef-fusion protein to promote the release of the protein of interestfrom Nef and/or other peptide functional domains, including affinitytags, in conjunction with fusion protein synthesis or purification.Exemplary protease cleavage sites include, but are not limited to,cleavage sites sensitive to thrombin, furin, factor Xa,metalloproteases, enterokinases, and cathepsin.

The targeting domain may comprise amino acid sequences conferringcell-type specific or cell differentiation-specific targeting. Thetargeting domain may be incorporated into the Nef-fusion protein or itcan be fused to a coexpressed membrane-bound exosomal marker protein.Preferably the targeting domain is fused to an extracellular domain inthe membrane-bound protein. The targeting domain may comprise anantibody or antibody derivative, a peptide ligand, a receptor ligand, areceptor fragment, a hormone, etc. Exemplary membrane-bound exosomalmarker proteins include, but are not limited to tetraspanins, such asCD9, CD63, CD81, CD82, and CD151, and a variety of GPI(glycerol-phosphatidyl inositol)-anchored proteins, among others.

Exemplary antibody or antibody derived targeting domains may include anymember of the group consisting of: IgG, antibody variable region;isolated CDR region; single chain Fv molecule (scFv) comprising a VH andVL domain linked by a peptide linker allowing for association betweenthe two domains to form an antigen binding site; bispecific scFv dimer;minibody comprising a scFv joined to a CH3 domain, single chain diabodyfragment, dAb fragment, which consists of a VH or a VL domain; Fabfragment consisting of VL, VH, CL and CH1 domains; Fab′ fragment, whichdiffers from a Fab fragment by the addition of a few residues at thecarboxyl terminus of the heavy chain CH1 domain, including one or morecysteines from the antibody hinge region; Fab′-SH fragment, which is aFab′ fragment in which the cysteine residue(s) of the constant domainsbear a free thiol group; F(ab′)₂, bivalent fragment comprising twolinked Fab fragments; Fd fragment consisting of VH and CH1 domains;derivatives thereof, and any other antibody fragment(s) retainingantigen-binding function. Fv, scFv, or diabody molecules may bestabilized by the incorporation of disulphide bridges linking the VH andVL domains. When using antibody-derived targeting agents, any or all ofthe targeting domains therein and/or Fc regions may be “humanized” usingmethodologies well known to those of skill in the art.

In some embodiments, the targeting domain comprises an antibody-derivedor peptide-derived targeting domain from a phage display library. Phagedisplay libraries engineered for binding cell surface molecules orreceptors are well known to those of skill in the art.

Functional domains in the Nef-fusion proteins of the present inventionmay be separated from one another by a spacer or linker to facilitatethe independent folding of each peptide portion relative to one anotherand ensure that the individual peptide portions in a fusion protein donot interfere with one another. The spacer may include any amino acid ormixtures thereof. In one embodiment, the spacer comprises between 1 to50 amino acids, preferably 3 to 15 amino acids in length. Preferably, achosen spacer will increase the flexibility of the protein andfacilitate adoption of an extended conformation. Preferred peptidespacers are comprised of the amino acids proline, lysine, glycine,alanine, and serine, and combinations thereof. In one embodiment, thelinker is a glycine rich linker. In a particular embodiment, the spacerhaving the formula [(Gly)_(n)-Ser/Ala]_(m) (SEQ ID NO:7) where n is from1 to 4, inclusive, and m is from 1 to 4, inclusive.

The Exosome-Producing Cell

The exosome-producing cell can be any cell capable of producingexosomes. In some embodiments, the exosome-producing cell is a cell ofmammalian origin. In other embodiments, the exosome-producing cell is ahuman cell. The exosome-producing cell produces and secretes membranevesicles of endosomal origin by fusion of late endosomal multivesicularbodies with the plasma membrane. Cells from various tissue types havebeen shown to secrete exosomes, such as dendritic cells, B lymphocytes,tumor cells, T lymphocytes and mast cells, for instance. Preferredexosome-producing cells include mammalian tumor cells, mammalian B and Tlymphocytes, and mammalian dendritic cells, typically of murine or humanorigin. In this regard, the cells are preferably immortalized dendriticcells, immature dendritic cells or tumor cells. Furthermore, for theproduction of antibody, it may be advantageous to use B lymphocytes asexosome-producing cells, since the resulting exosomes comprise accessoryfunctions and molecules such as MHC class II molecules that facilitateantibody production. Furthermore, it has been shown that B cells-derivedexosomes are able to bind to follicular dendritic cells, which isanother important feature for antibody induction.

In some embodiments, the exosome-producing cell is stably transformedwith a vector expressing the Nef-fusion protein. In other embodiments,the exosome-producing cell is transiently transfected with a vectorexpressing the fusion protein.

Any suitable expression vector may be used to introduce and expressNef-fusion proteins. As used herein, the term “expression vector”includes any nucleic acid capable of expressing the fusion protein invivo. Expression vectors may be delivered to cells using two primarydelivery schemes: viral-based delivery systems using viral vectors andnon-viral based delivery systems using, for example, plasmid vectors.Such methods are well known in the art and readily adaptable for usewith the compositions and methods described herein. In certain cases,these methods can be used to target certain diseases and cellpopulations by using the targeting characteristics inherent to thecarrier or engineered into the carrier.

The expression vector contains one or more transcriptional regulatoryelements, including promoters and/or enhancers, for directing theexpression of Nef-fusion proteins. A promoter comprises a DNA sequencethat functions to initiate transcription from a relatively fixedlocation in regard to the transcription start site. A promoter containscore elements required for basic interaction of RNA polymerase andtranscription factors, and may operate in conjunction with otherupstream elements and response elements.

As used herein, the term “promoter” is to be taken in its broadestcontext and includes transcriptional regulatory elements (TREs) fromgenomic genes or chimeric TREs therefrom, including the TATA box orinitiator element for accurate transcription initiation, with or withoutadditional TREs (i.e., upstream activating sequences, transcriptionfactor binding sites, enhancers, and silencers) which regulateactivation or repression of genes operably linked thereto in response todevelopmental and/or external stimuli, and trans-acting regulatoryproteins or nucleic acids. The promoter may be constitutively active orit may be active in one or more tissues or cell types in adevelopmentally regulated manner. A promoter may contain a genomicfragment or it may contain a chimera of one or more TREs combinedtogether.

Preferred promoters are those capable of directing expression in atarget cell of interest. The promoters may include constitutivepromoters (e.g., HCMV, SV40, elongation factor-1α (EF-1α)) or thoseexhibiting preferential expression in a particular cell type ofinterest. Enhancers generally refer to DNA sequences that function awayfrom the transcription start site and can be either 5′ or 3′ to thetranscription unit. Furthermore, enhancers can be within an intron aswell as within the coding sequence. They are usually between 10 and 300bp in length, and they function in cis. Enhancers function to increaseand/or regulate transcription from nearby promoters. Preferred enhancersare those directing high-level expression in the exosome expressingcell.

The promoter and/or enhancer may be specifically activated either bylight or specific chemical inducing agents. In some embodiments,inducible expression systems regulated by administration of tetracyclineor dexamethasone, for example, may be used. In other embodiments, geneexpression may be enhanced by exposure to radiation, including gammairradiation and external beam radiotherapy (EBRT), or alkylatingchemotherapeutic drugs.

Cell or tissue-specific transcriptional regulatory elements (TREs) canbe incorporated into expression vectors to allow for transcriptionaltargeting of expression to desired cell types. Expression vectorsgenerally contain sequences for transcriptional termination, and mayadditionally contain one or more elements positively affecting mRNAstability. An expression vector may further include an internal ribosomeentry site (IRES) between adjacent protein coding regions to facilitateexpression two or more proteins from a common mRNA in an infected ortransfected cell. Additionally, the expression vectors may furtherinclude nucleic acid sequence encoding a marker product. This markerproduct is used to determine if the gene has been delivered to the celland once delivered is being expressed. Preferred marker genes are the E.coli lacZ gene, which encodes ß-galactosidase, and green fluorescentprotein.

The expression vector can be introduced into the exosome-producing cellsby any conventional method, such as by naked DNA technique, cationiclipid-mediated transfection, polymer-mediated transfection,peptide-mediated transfection, virus-mediated infection, physical orchemical agents or treatments, electroporation, etc. In one embodiment,cells transfected with the vector may be used directly as a source ofexosomes (transient transfection). Alternatively, cells may betransfected with a vector expressing a Nef-fusion protein along with aselectable marker facilitating selection of stably transformed clonesexpressing the fusion protein. The exosomes produced by such cells maybe collected and/or purified according to techniques known in the art,such as by centrifugation, chromatography, etc. as further described inthe cited references and Examples herein.

Examples of suitable selectable markers for mammalian cells includedihydrofolate reductase (DHFR), thymidine kinase, neomycin, neomycinanalog G418, hydromycin, and puromycin. When such selectable markers aresuccessfully transferred into a mammalian host cell, the transformedmammalian host cell can survive if placed under selective pressure.There are two widely used distinct categories of selective regimes. Thefirst category is based on a cell's metabolism and the use of a mutantcell line which lacks the ability to grow independent of a supplementedmedia. Two examples are: CHO DHFR-cells and mouse LTK-cells. These cellslack the ability to grow without the addition of such nutrients asthymidine or hypoxanthine. Because these cells lack certain genesnecessary for a complete nucleotide synthesis pathway, they cannotsurvive unless the missing nucleotides are provided in a supplementedmedia. An alternative to supplementing the media is to introduce anintact DHFR or TK gene into cells lacking the respective genes, thusaltering their growth requirements. Individual cells which were nottransformed with the DHFR or TK gene will not be capable of survival innon-supplemented media.

The second category is dominant selection which refers to a selectionscheme used in any cell type and does not require the use of a mutantcell line. These schemes typically use a drug to arrest growth of a hostcell. Those cells which have a novel gene would express a proteinconveying drug resistance and would survive the selection. Examples ofsuch dominant selection use the drugs neomycin, mycophenolic acid, orhygromycin. The three examples employ bacterial genes under eukaryoticcontrol to convey resistance to the appropriate drug G418 or neomycin(geneticin), xgpt (mycophenolic acid) or hygromycin, respectively.Others include the neomycin analog G418 and puromycin.

In some embodiments, the Nef-fusion proteins are delivered fromviral-derived expression vectors. Exemplary viral vectors may include orbe derived from adenovirus, adeno-associated virus, herpesvirus,vaccinia virus, poliovirus, poxvirus, HIV virus, lentivirus, retrovirus,Sindbis and other RNA viruses, and the like. Also preferred are anyviral families which share the properties of these viruses which makethem suitable for use as vectors. Retroviruses include Murine MoloneyLeukemia virus (MMLV), HIV and other lentivirus vectors. Adenovirusvectors are relatively stable and easy to work with, have high titers,and can be delivered in aerosol formulation, and can transfectnon-dividing cells. Poxviral vectors are large and have several sitesfor inserting genes, they are thermostable and can be stored at roomtemperature. Viral delivery systems typically utilize viral vectorshaving one or more genes removed and with and an exogenous gene and/orgene/promoter cassette being inserted into the viral genome in place ofthe removed viral DNA. The necessary functions of the removed gene(s)may be supplied by cell lines which have been engineered to express thegene products of the early genes in trans.

Exemplary exosome-producing cells include human Jurkat, human embryonickidney (HEK) 293, Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells, mouse WEHIfibrosarcoma cells, and unicellular protozoan species, such asLeishmania tarentolae. In addition, stably transformed,exosome-producing cell lines may be produced using primary cellsimmortalized with c-myc or other immortalizing agents. In someembodiments, the cell lines expresses at least 1 mg, at least 2 mg, atleast 5 mg, at least 10 mg, at least 20 mg, at least 50 mg, or at least100 mg of the Nef-fusion protein/liter of culture.

In one embodiment, the cell line comprises a stably transformedLeishmania cell line, such as Leishmania tarentolae. Leishmania areknown to secrete exosomes and are known to provide a robust,fast-growing unicellular host for high level expression of eukaryoticproteins exhibiting mammalian-type glycosylation patterns. Acommercially available Leishmania eukaryotic expression kit is available(Jena Bioscience GmbH, Jena, Germany).

Isolation of Exosomes and Purification of Nef-Fusion Protein

Exosomes are isolated from exosome-producing cells. Exosome-producingcells are cultured and maintained in any appropriate culture medium,such as RPMI, DMEM, and AIM V®. The culture medium is preferably aprotein-free medium so as to avoid contamination of exosomes bymedia-derived proteins. In some embodiments, exosomes are isolated fromthe culture supernatants by sequential centrifugation. The Nef-fusionproteins are then purified using conventional protein purificationmethodologies (e.g., affinity purification, chromatography, etc) knownto those of skill in the art. In certain embodiments, the purifiedNef-fusion protein is treated to release the protein of interest fromthe Nef-derived peptide. The protein of interest is then purified fromthe treated Nef-fusion protein using conventional protein purificationmethodologies.

In some other embodiments, the isolated exosomes are treated to releasethe protein of interest from the Nef-derived peptide. The protein ofinterest is then purified from the treated exosomes using conventionalprotein purification methodologies. Therefore, one aspect of the presentapplication relates to a Nef-fusion protein produced by culturing cellsthat produce exosomes containing the Nef-fusion protein; isolatingexosomes from the exosome-producing cell culture; and purifying theNef-fusion protein from the isolated exosomes, wherein the Nef-fusionprotein comprises a Nef-derived peptide fused to a protein of interest.

Methods of Using the Nef-Fusion Protein and Exosomes Containing theNef-Fusion Protein

Another aspect of the present application relates to a method oftreating cancer in a subject. In certain embodiments, the methodincludes the step of administering to a subject in need of suchtreatment, an effective amount of an exosome comprising the Nef-fusionprotein described above, wherein the protein of interest is acancer-specific antigen and wherein the exosome is isolated from aprofessional antigen presenting cell, such a B lymphocyte or a dendriticcell.

In other embodiments, exosomes containing the Nef-fusion protein arefurther loaded with one or more immunogenic agents, including antigens,peptides, small molecule drugs and/or nucleic acids, such as siRNAs.Such agents may be loaded into exosomes using conventional deliverymethodologies, employing, for example, transfection agents, includingliposomal and peptide-based transfection agents, electroporation,microinjection and the like.

In certain embodiments, exosomes containing the Nef-fusion protein areloaded with an siRNA targeting a cancer marker that is over-expressed incancer cells. In one embodiment, purified exosomes are loaded withexogenous siRNA by electroporation. The exosomes may be further modifiedto target specific organ, tissue or cells.

Another aspect of the present application relates to a method forinducing an immune response in a mammal. The method comprisesadministering to a mammal an exosome containing a Nef-fusion proteincomprising an immunogenic protein of interest, wherein the exosomecomposition is sufficient to induce an immune response in the mammal.The exosome may be introduced into the mammal as a vaccine, animmunotherapeutic composition for treating a disease, or an immunogenfor raising antibodies in an animal.

In one embodiment, the exosome is administered as a vaccine. In anotherembodiment, the exosome is administered as an immunotherapeuticcomposition, such as an immunosuppressive exosome. In anotherembodiment, the Nef-fusion protein comprises a Nef-derived fragmentfused to an immunogenic protein from a bacterium, virus, fungus, orprotozoan. In a further embodiment, the exosome is isolated from anantigen presenting cell, such as a dendritic cell, B lymphocyte, ormacrophage.

Another aspect of the present application relates to immunoassaymethods, compositions or devices using the Nef-fusion protein producedby the method of the present application. In some embodiments, themethod is a detection method comprising the steps of contacting a samplefrom a subject with a Nef-fusion protein that binds specifically to atarget molecule, detecting a binding of the target molecule in thesample to the Nef-fusion protein, and determining a level of the targetmolecule in the sample, wherein a medical condition is indicated if thelevel of the target molecule is outside a reference range.

The sample can be a cell sample, tissue sample or body fluid sample,such as a blood sample or a urine sample.

In some embodiments, the Nef-fusion protein is attached to a solidsupport to capture an antibody of interest or an antigen of interestfrom a sample. By “solid support” is meant a non-aqueous matrix to whichthe Nef-fusion protein of the present invention can adhere or attach.Examples of solid phases encompassed herein include those formedpartially or entirely of glass (e.g., controlled pore glass),polysaccharides (e.g., agarose), polyacrylamides, silicones, andplastics such as polystyrene, polypropylene and polyvinyl alcohol. Thesolid support can be in the form of tubes, microtiter plates, beads, orcells.

Examples of immunoassays include enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA), radioimmunoassay (RIA), flow cytometry, protein array,microbead assay, magnetic capture, and combinations thereof. The medicalcondition can comprise any disease state in which the presence of atarget antigen and/or an antibody against the target antigen in thesubject is indicative of the medical condition, such as a cancerousconditions, a microbial infection etc.

In one embodiment, the exosome is conjugated to a solid support. In someembodiments, exosome coated assay plates or wells are contacted withserum from a patient and tested for the presence or absence ofantibodies binding to the Nef-fusion protein comprising a target antigenor marker diagnostic for a medical condition. As the antigenconcentration increases in the plates or wells the amount of antibodyincreases leading to a higher measured response. Typically an enzyme isattached to the secondary antibody which must be generated in adifferent species than primary antibodies (i.e., if the primary antibodyis a rabbit antibody than the secondary antibody would be an anti-rabbitfrom goat, chicken, etc., but not rabbit). The substrate for the enzymeis added to the reaction that forms a colorimetric readout as thedetection signal. The signal generated is proportional to the amount oftarget antigen present in the sample.

The antibody linked reporter used to measure the binding eventdetermines the detection mode. A spectrophotometric plate reader may beused for colorimetric detection. Several types of reporters have beenrecently developed in order to increase sensitivity in an immunoassay.For example, chemiluminescent substrates have been developed whichfurther amplify the signal and can be read on a luminescent platereader. Also, a fluorescent readout where the enzyme step of the assayis replaced with a fluorophor tagged antibody is becoming quite popular.This readout is then measured using a fluorescent plate reader.

In some embodiments, a competitive binding assay based on thecompetition of labeled and unlabeled ligand for a limited number ofantibody binding sites may be used. Competitive inhibition assays areoften used to measure small analytes. Only one antibody is used in acompetitive binding ELISA. This is due to the steric hindrance thatoccurs if two antibodies would attempt to bind to a very small molecule.A fixed amount of labeled ligand (tracer) and a variable amount ofunlabeled ligand are incubated with the antibody. According to law ofmass action, the amount of labeled ligand is a function of the totalconcentration of labeled and unlabeled ligand. As the concentration ofunlabeled ligand is increased, less labeled ligand can bind to theantibody and the measured response decreases. Thus the lower the signal,the more unlabeled analyte there is in the sample. The standard curve ofa competitive binding assay has a negative slope.

In certain other embodiments, a detection marker may be detected usingexosome or Nef-fusion protein coated microbeads. In some embodiments,the microbeads are magnetic beads. In other embodiments, the beads areinternally color-coded with fluorescent dyes and the surface of the beadis tagged with an exosome expressing a fusion protein of interest thatcan bind an antibody in a test sample. Antibody-bound exosomes may bedirectly labeled with a fluorescent tag or indirectly labeled with ananti-marker antibody conjugated to a fluorescent tag and may contain twosources of color, one from the bead and the other from the fluorescenttag. The beads can then pass through a laser and, on the basis of theircolor (and/or size), either get sorted or measured for color intensity,which is processed into quantitative data for each reaction.

Compositions Containing the Nef-Fusion Protein

A further aspect of the present application relates to compositions fortreating a disease condition in accordance with the methods describedherein. In one embodiment, the composition comprises a Nef-fusionprotein containing a Nef-derived peptide fused to a protein of interestand a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier. In another embodiment, thecomposition comprises an exosome comprising a Nef-fusion proteincontaining a Nef-derived peptide fused to a protein of interest asdescribed above and a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier.

By “pharmaceutically acceptable” is meant a material that is notbiologically or otherwise undesirable, i.e., the material may beadministered to a subject, along with the nucleic acid or vector,without causing any undesirable biological effects or interacting in adeleterious manner with any of the other components of thepharmaceutical composition in which it is contained. The carrier wouldnaturally be selected to minimize any degradation of the activeingredient and to minimize any adverse side effects in the subject, aswould be well known to one of skill in the art.

In another embodiments, the composition comprises a Nef-fusion proteincontaining exosome further loaded with one or more immunogenic agents,including antigens, peptides, small molecule drugs, and nucleic acids,such as siRNAs. Such agents may be loaded into exosomes as describedabove.

In other embodiments, the composition comprises an expression vectorconfigured to express the fusion protein so as to redirect itslocalization to secreted exosomes.

Pharmaceutical carriers are known to those skilled in the art. Thesemost typically would be standard carriers for administration of drugs tohumans, including solutions such as sterile water, saline, Ringer'ssolution, dextrose solution, and buffered solutions at physiological pH.Typically, an appropriate amount of a pharmaceutically-acceptable saltis used in the formulation to render the formulation isotonic. The pH ofthe solution is preferably from about 5 to about 8, and more preferablyfrom about 7 to about 7.5. It will be apparent to those skilled in theart that certain carriers may be more preferable depending upon, forinstance, the route of administration and exosome concentration beingadministered.

Pharmaceutical compositions may include carriers, thickeners, diluents,buffers, preservatives, surface active agents and the like in additionto the molecule of choice. Pharmaceutical compositions may also includeone or more active ingredients such as antimicrobial agents,anti-inflammatory agents, anesthetics, and the like.

Preparations for parenteral administration include sterile aqueous ornon-aqueous solutions, suspensions, and emulsions. Examples ofnon-aqueous solvents are propylene glycol, polyethylene glycol,vegetable oils such as olive oil, and injectable organic esters such asethyl oleate. Aqueous carriers include water, alcoholic/aqueoussolutions, emulsions or suspensions, including saline and bufferedmedia. Parenteral vehicles include sodium chloride solution, Ringer'sdextrose, dextrose and sodium chloride, lactated Ringer's, or fixedoils. Intravenous vehicles include fluid and nutrient replenishers,electrolyte replenishers (such as those based on Ringer's dextrose), andthe like. Preservatives and other additives may also be present such as,for example, antimicrobials, anti-oxidants, chelating agents, and inertgases and the like.

Compositions for topical administration may include ointments, lotions,creams, gels, drops, suppositories, sprays, liquids and powders.Conventional pharmaceutical carriers, aqueous, powder or oily bases,thickeners and the like may be necessary or desirable.

Compositions for oral administration include powders or granules,suspensions or solutions in water or non-aqueous media, capsules,sachets, or tablets. Thickeners, flavorings, diluents, emulsifiers,dispersing aids or binders may be desirable.

Some of the compositions may potentially be administered as apharmaceutically acceptable acid- or base-addition salt, formed byreaction with inorganic acids such as hydrochloric acid, hydrobromicacid, perchloric acid, nitric acid, thiocyanic acid, sulfuric acid, andphosphoric acid, and organic acids such as formic acid, acetic acid,propionic acid, glycolic acid, lactic acid, pyruvic acid, oxalic acid,malonic acid, succinic acid, maleic acid, and fumaric acid, or byreaction with an inorganic base such as sodium hydroxide, ammoniumhydroxide, potassium hydroxide, and organic bases such as mono-, di-,trialkyl and aryl amines and substituted ethanolamines.

The exosome materials may be targeted to a particular cell type viatargeting domains as described above. The targeting domain may beincorporated into the Nef-fusion protein or in another coexpressedexosome protein as described above.

The pharmaceutical compositions described herein can be packagedtogether in a suitable combination as a kit useful for performing, oraiding in the performance of, the disclosed method.

The pharmaceutical composition disclosed herein may be administered in anumber of ways depending on whether local or systemic treatment isdesired, and on the area to be treated. For example, the compositionsmay be administered orally, parenterally (e.g., intravenous,subcutaneous, intraperitoneal, or intramuscular injection), byinhalation, extracorporeally, topically (including transdermally,ophthalmically, vaginally, rectally, intranasally) or the like.

As used herein, “topical intranasal administration” means delivery ofthe pharmaceutical composition into the nose and nasal passages throughone or both of the nares and can comprise delivery by a sprayingmechanism or droplet mechanism, or through aerosolization of thepharmaceutical composition. Administration of the composition byinhalant can be through the nose or mouth via delivery by a spraying ordroplet mechanism. Delivery can also be directly to any area of therespiratory system (e.g., lungs) via intubation.

Parenteral administration of the composition, if used, is generallycharacterized by injection. Injectables can be prepared in conventionalforms, either as liquid solutions or suspensions, solid forms suitablefor solution of suspension in liquid prior to injection, or asemulsions. A more recently revised approach for parenteraladministration involves use of a slow release or sustained releasesystem such that a constant dosage is maintained.

The exact amount of the compositions required will vary from subject tosubject, depending on the species, age, weight and general condition ofthe subject, the particular nucleic acid or vector used, its mode ofadministration and the like. An appropriate amount can be determined byone of ordinary skill in the art using only routine experimentationgiven the teachings herein. Thus, effective dosages and schedules foradministering the compositions may be determined empirically, and makingsuch determinations is within the skill in the art. The dosage rangesfor the administration of the compositions are those large enough toproduce the desired effect in which the symptoms of the disorders areaffected. The dosage should not be so large as to cause adverse sideeffects, such as unwanted cross-reactions, anaphylactic reactions, andthe like. Generally, the dosage will vary with the age, condition, sexand extent of the disease in the patient, route of administration, orwhether other drugs are included in the regimen, and can be determinedby one of skill in the art. The dosage can be adjusted by the individualphysician in the event of any counter indications. Dosage can vary, andcan be administered in one or more dose administrations daily, for oneor several days. Guidance can be found in the literature for appropriatedosages for given classes of pharmaceutical products.

For example, a typical daily dosage of the disclosed composition usedalone might range from about 1 μg/kg to up to 100 mg/kg of body weightor more per day, depending on the factors mentioned above.

The present invention is further illustrated by the following exampleswhich should not be construed as limiting. The contents of allreferences, patents and published patent applications cited throughoutthis application, as well as the Figures and Tables are incorporatedherein by reference.

Example 1. Characterization of Hiv Type 1 Nef-Induced Exosome Secretion

Within the N-terminal 70 amino acids of HIV-1 Nef several domains wereidentified as important for Nef-induced vesicle secretion, including:(i) four arginine residues (aa 17-22) comprising the basic region; (ii)a phosphofurin acidic cluster sequence (PACS; Glu61-64); and (iii) asecretion modification region (SMR) spanning amino acid residues 65-70(VGFPV). Additional amino acids associated with Nef secretion includeP_(25,29)GVG₃₁, and T44. The portion of HIV-1 Nef containing the aminoacids 1-70 was found to be sufficient to drive Nef-induced vesiclesecretion in all cell types tested.

SMS Allows Other Proteins to be Released into the Supernatant.

The green fluorescent protein (GFP) gene was cloned downstream of theHIV-1 Nef sequences such that a Nef-GFP fusion protein would beexpressed. Nef sequences were able to drive secretion of GFP into theextracellular supernatant in vesicles. The conditioned supernatant wasassayed for GFP expression by a fluorescent plate reader assay. The GFPclone alone is not secreted into the extracellular supernatant. HIV-1Nef Δ71-206-GFP, containing only the N-terminal 70 amino acids of HIV-1Nef protein, secretes GFP into the conditioned supernatant in vesiclesas well as the full wtNef-GFP construct. Red fluorescent protein (RFP)fused to these same Nef sequences can also be secreted into theconditioned supernatant in vesicular format. Thus, Nef N-terminalsequences are useful for redirecting exogenous proteins into vesicles,which are released from the cell they are expressed in.

Materials and Methods

Cells and Reagents.

Escherichia coli STBL-2 cells (Invitrogen, Palo Alto, Calif.) weremaintained in LB broth or LB agar (Becton, Dickinson and Company,Sparks, Md.) plates at 30° C. and plasmid-containing transformants wereselected on LB agar plates containing ampicillin (100 μg/ml). JurkatCD4+ T cell lines derived from human T cell leukemia and human cutaneousT cell lymphoma cells, respectively, were obtained from the NIH AIDSResearch and Reference Reagent Program (ARRRP). THP-1 and U-937monocytic leukemia cell lines were obtained from the American TypeCulture Collection (Manassas, Va.). Cells were maintained in RPMI 1640medium (Invitrogen) supplemented with streptomycin (100 U/ml),penicillin (100 U/ml), L-glutamine (2.0 mM), and HEPES-buffered salinesolution (10 μM). HEK293 cells derived from a human primary embryonickidney transformed by adenovirus type 5 were obtained from the NIHARRRP. The cells were maintained in 5% fetal bovine serum HEK293 medium(Invitrogen) supplemented with streptomycin (100 U/ml) and penicillin(100 U/ml). FRhK-4 (rhesus monkey epithelial cells) cells weremaintained in DMEM with penicillin (100 U/ml)/streptomycin (100 U/ml),4.0 mM L-glutamine, 4500 mg/liter glucose, 1.0 mM sodium pyruvate, 1500mg/liter sodium bicarbonate, and 10% fetal bovine serum. The cells wereincubated at 37° C. for 2-4 days and were harvested when they reached80-90% confluence.

The following antibodies were used: (1) rabbit polyclonal anti-GFPantibody (Abcam, Inc., Cambridge, Mass.), (2) rabbit polyclonal anti-Nefantibody (NIH ARRRP) and murine monoclonal anti-Nef HIV-1 antibody(ImmunoDiagnostic, Inc., Woburn, Mass.), (3) monoclonal anti-CD45antibody (Abcam Inc., Cambridge, Mass.); (4) monoclonal anti-AChEantibody (Chemicon, Temecula, Calif.), (5) rabbit monoclonal anti-GFPantibody (Abcam Inc., Cambridge, Mass.), (6) goat anti-Alix polyclonalantibody (Santa Cruz, Inc., Santa Cruz, Calif.), (7) monoclonalantitubulin antibody (Sigma, St. Louis, Mo.), (8) goat antirabbit IgG(H+L) labeled with horseradish peroxidase (HRP; Pierce, Rockford, Ill.),(9) camptothecin (Sigma, St. Louis, Mo.), and (10) donkey antigoatIgG-HRP (Santa Cruz, Inc., Santa Cruz, Calif.).

Construction of the Nef Mutants.

The HIV-1 NL4-3 nef construct in expression vector pQBI-Nef-GFP (QuantumBiotechnologies, Montreal, Canada) was used as a template for amplifyingvarious Nef amplicons as well as for the subcloning of the Nef mutantsto create Nef-GFP fusion constructs (FIG. 1). Nef-GFP was expressedunder the control of the CMV promoter in pQBI in the various cell typestested (HEK-293, FRhK-4, Jurkat T cells and monocytes, THP-1/U937).

Deletion mutants of the C-terminus of HIV-1 Nef (FIG. 4A) Δ31-206,Δ51-206, Δ66-206, Δ71-206, Δ91-206, Δ151-206, and Δ201-206 wereconstructed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification usingprimers Nef-R-5798-NheI-F, Nef-R-5735-NheI-F, Nef-R-5690-NheI-F,Nef-R-5675-NheI-F, Nef-R-5615-NheI-F, Nef-R-5435-NheI-F, andNef-R-5285-NheI-F, respectively, in combination with Nef-R-541-PvuI-R1for PCR (see Table 1). The resulting amplicons had NheI and PvuIrestriction enzyme sites on each flank. These amplicons weresubsequently cloned into the NheI PvuI sites in the pQBI vector.N-terminal deletion mutants of HIV-1 Nef Δ1-12 and Nef Δ1-40 wereconstructed with primers Nef13-F-SacII and NefΔ1-F-SacII, respectively,in combination with GFP-R-EcoRI for PCR amplification (see Table 1). Theresulting amplicons had SacII and EcoRI restriction enzyme sites on eachflank for subcloning into the pQBI-GFP SacII/EcoRI sites. To obtain theΔ1-12/Δ1-40 deletion mutants in the context of a full-length Nef gene,the pQBI-Nef-GFP was used as a DNA template whereas to obtain theΔ1-12/Δ1-40 in the context of the first HIV Nef 70 aa, pQBI-Nef 1-70-GFPwas used as a DNA template.

For the construction of HIV-1 substitution mutants (FIG. 4B)Nef-EEEE/4A-GFP, NefR/4A-GFP, NefK/P-GFP, NefS/A-GFP, and NefVGFPV-GFP,primers PACS-F/PACS-R, RXRXRR-F/RXRXRR-R, XKX-F/XKX-R, XSSX-F/XSSX-R,and VGFPV-F/VGFPV-R (Table 1), respectively, were used for site-directedmutagenesis in combination with the QuikChange Site-Directed MutagenesisKit (Stratagene, La Jolla, Calif.). A GFP expression plasmid (pQBI-GFP)was constructed by amplifying GFP using GFP-1-F-SacII/GFP-R-EcoRIprimers (Table 1). The amplicon had SacII and EcoRI restriction enzymesites on each flank for subcloning into Sacll EcoRI sites of the pQBIvector to yield pQBI-GFP.

All of the HIV Nef-GFP constructs used in this study were confirmed bysequencing of both DNA strands using CMV-846-F and GFP-1855-R primers,respectively (Table 1).

TABLE 1 PCR and Site-Directed Mutagenesis Primers Used in Example 1Primer Sequence CMV-846-F CGTGTACGGTGGGAGGTCTATATAAGC (SEQ ID NO: 8)GFP-1855-R CATAACCTTCGGGCATGGCACTC (SEQ ID NO:  9) Nef-R-5798-NheI-FCATTGCTAGCCCCATCTGCTGCTGGCTCAGC (SEQ ID NO: 10) Nef-R-5735-NheI-FCATTGCTAGCAGCTGCTGTATTGCTACTTGTGATTGC (SEQ ID NO: 11) Nef-R-5690-NheI-FCATTGCTAGCCTCTTCCTCCTCTTGTGCTTCTAGC (SEQ ID NO: 12) Nef-R-5675-NheI-FCATTGCTAGCGACTGGAAAACCCACCTCTTCCTC (SEQ ID NO: 13) Nef-R-5615-NheI-FCATTGCTAGCAAAGTGGCTAAGATCTACAGCTGCCTT (SEQ ID NO: 14) Nef-R-5435-Nhel-FCATTGCTAGCTGGCTCAACTGGTACTAGCTTGTAGCA (SEQ ID NO: 15) Nef-R-5285-NheI-FCATTGCTAGCCGGATGCAGCTCTCGGGCCA (SEQ ID NO: 16) Nef-R-541-PvuI-R1GGTCCTCCGATCGTTGTCAGAAGT (SEQ ID NO: 17) Nef13-F-SacIICAGTCCGCGGATG TGGCCTGCTGTAAGGGAAAGAATG (SEQ ID NO: 18) Nef41-F-SacIICAGTCCGCGGATG GGAGCAATCACAAGTAGCAATACAGCA (SEQ ID NO: 19) PACS-FCTAGAAGCACAAGCGGCGGCAGCGGTGGGTTTTCCA (SEQ ID NO: 20) PACS-RTGGAAAACCCACCGCTGCCGCCGCTTGTGCTTCTAG (SEQ ID NO: 21) RXRXRR-FATGTGGCCTGCTGTAGCGGAAGCAATGGCAGCAGCTGAGCCAGCA (SEQ ID NO: 22) RXRXRR-RTGCTGGCTCAGCTGCTGCCATTGCTTCCGCTACAGCAGGCCACAT (SEQ ID NO: 23) XKX-FGCAGTATCTCGAGACCTAGAACCGCATGGAGCAATCACAAGTAGC (SEQ ID NO: 24) XKX-RGCTACTTGTGATTGCTCCATGCGGTTCTAGGTCTCGAGATACTGC (SEQ ID NO:  25) XSSX-FCATGGAGCAATCACAGCCGCGAATACAGCAGCTAAC (SEQ ID NO: 26) XSSX-RGTTAGCTGCTGTATTCGCGGCTGTGATTGCTCCATG (SEQ ID NO: 27) XEEEX-FTGGCTAGAAGCACAAGACGACGACGACGTGGGTTTTCCAGTC (SEQ ID NO: 28) XEEEE-RGACTGGAAAACCCACGTCGTCGTCGTCTTGTGCTTCTAGCCA (SEQ ID NO: 29) VGFPV-FCAAGAGGAGGAAGAGGCGGCTGCTGCAGCCGCTAGCAAAGGAGAA (SEQ ID NO:  30) VGFPV-RTTCTCCTTTGCTAGCGGCTGCAGCAGCCGCCTCTTCCTCCTCTTG (SEQ ID NO:  31)GFP-1-F-SacII CAGTCCGCGGATGGCTAGCAAAGGAGAAGAACTCTTCACT (SEQ ID NO: 32)GFP-R-EcoRI TGCAGAATTCCAGCACACTGG (SEQ ID NO: 33) GFP-1-F-SacIICAGTCCGCGGATGGCTAGCAAAGGAGAAGAACTCTTCACT (SEQ ID NO:  34) GFP-R-EcoRITGCAGAATTCCAGCACACTGG (SEQ ID NO: 35) Cherry-F-NheICGCG GCTAGC TCATCT GTGAGCAAGGGCGAGGAGGAT (SEQ ID NO: 36) Cherry-R-BamHICGCG GGATCC TCA CTTGTACAGCTCGTCCATGCC (SEQ ID NO: 37) Cherry-F-HindIIICGCG AAGCTT ATG GTGAGCAAGGGCGAGGAGGAT (SEQ ID NO: 38) ^(a)All primersare from 5′ to 3′ orientation.

Cell Transfection.

HEK293cells were grown in serum-free medium (GIBCO 293 Freestyle,Invitrogen) at 37° C. to a confluence of 75-80%. Cells were trypsinized,washed, and counted before transfection with wtNef-GFP and Nef mutantsusing electroporation (Bio-Rad Model 1652108). Jurkat, FRhK-4, THP-1,and U937 monocytes were grown in serum-free RPMI 1640 medium and thendiluted to a final concentration of 1×10⁶ cells/100 μl of medium andmixed with 1 μg of plasmid DNA. The cells were transferred toelectroporation cuvettes (2 mm, Bio-Rad), pulsed at 140V (Jurkat), 130V(FRhK-4), and 140V (THP-1 and U937 monocytes) using a Bio-Rad Model GenePulser Xcell system, following the manual to select conditions. Thecell/DNA solution was then centrifuged at 600×g for 5 min, the floatingdead cells were removed, and the pellet was resuspended in 1 ml of freshmedia containing 5% fetal bovine serum (FBS). The cells were put inculture plates and incubated for 48 h at 37° C. Cells were collected bycentrifuging at 600×g for 5 min. The cells were mounted on a slide andthe transfection efficiency was calculated by counting the greenfluorescent cells using a fluorescent microscope.

Propidium Iodide (PI) Assay.

HEK293 cells were transfected with pQM/HIV-1 Nef mutant plasmid DNA for48 h as described above. The cells were washed in PBS after whichfreshly prepared PI solution (1.25 μg/ml) was added. The cells wereincubated at room temperature for 2 min and examined immediately under amicroscope, with dead cells staining red.

TUNEL Assay.

The HEK293 cells were transfected with pQM/HIV-1 wtNef-GFP or wtNef-RFPplasmid DNA for 48 h as described above. The cell cultures were assayedfor apoptosis by TUNEL assay, by epifluorescence detection, on acomputer-controlled fluorescence microscope system (Carl Zeiss,Thornwood, N.Y.). Cells transfected with wtNef-RFP were visualized asred, whereas the TUNEL-labeled apoptotic cells were green.

Exosome Isolation and Purification from the Transfected Cells.

Cells transfected with HIV-1 wtNef-GFP (10⁶ cells/ml, as describedabove) were harvested at 48 h posttransfection. The cells were removedfrom the culture media by centrifugation at 600×g for 5 min. Thecell-free supernatant was subjected to a second spin at 10,000×g for 30min to pellet the cell debris. Exosomes were collected by sequentialcentrifugations of this cleared supernatant at 50,000×g for 45 min,100,000×g for 1 h, and 400,000×g for 2 h at 4° C. As a negative control,culture media from a similar volume of untransfected cells were alsosubjected to sequential centrifugations. It was further determined thatexosome-like vesicles could be isolated from untransfected Jurkat cellsby starting with conditioned media from a larger number (2.5×10⁷ cells)of cells using the same procedure.

Exosome Flotation on Continuous Sucrose Gradients.

Jurkat cell cultures were transfected and distributed in 35-mm dishes (1ml/dish) as described. For the preparation of exosomes on flotationgradients, 28 ml of untransfected Jurkat cell cultures and 14 ml ofHIV-1 wtNef-GFP-transfected Jurkat cell cultures were centrifuged for 5min at 600×g to remove the cells. The cell pellets (see FIG. 2, lane 1)were set aside for processing (SDS-PAGE and Western blot, describedbelow). The cell-free supernatants were then centrifuged for 10 min at1200×g and an aliquot (4 ml untransfected and 1 mlwtNef-GFP-transfected) of this 1200×g clarified supernatant (see FIG. 2,lane 2) was also processed for Western blotting. The remaining clarifiedsupernatants (24 ml untransfected and 12 ml wtNef-GFP-transfected) weresubjected to sequential centrifugation for 30 min at 10,000×g, 45 min at50,000×g, 60 min at 200,000×g, and 60 min at 400,000×g, using a Type42.1 ultracentrifuge rotor (Beckman Instruments, Inc., Fullerton,Calif.). The 50,000×g pellets were saved for Western blotting (see FIG.2, lane, 3). The 200,000×g and 400,000×g pellets were resuspended in 1ml of 2.5 M sucrose, 20 mM HEPES/NaOH, pH 7.2. An aliquot (250 μl) ofeach sucrose suspension was centrifuged at 400,000×g for 60 min. Thesesamples (see FIG. 2, lane 4) were set aside for Western analysis. A10-ml linear sucrose gradient (2.0-0.25 M sucrose, 20 mM HEPES/NaOH, pH7.2) was layered on top of the remaining 750 μl of sucrose suspension ina Beckman Ultra-Clear 14×95-mm tube and centrifuged at 100,000×g for 16h using a Type 40-Ti rotor (Beckman Instruments, Inc.). Gradientfractions (12 fractions of 750 μl) were collected, subsequently diluted1:3 with phosphate-buffered saline (PBS), and centrifuged for 60 min at400,000×g using a TLA 100.4 rotor (Beckman Instruments, Inc.). Theresultant pellets (gradient fractions; (see FIG. 2, lanes 5-12) were setaside for Western blot analysis.

Processing of Fractions for SDS-PAGE.

Aliquots of the 1200×g clarified supernatants from untransfected andwtNef-GFP-transfected cultures and the fractions from the other stepswere centrifuged at 400,000×g. The pellets were collected and lysed in2×SDS-PAGE sample buffer and heated at 95-100° C. for 5 min. The400,000×g spent supernatants after differential centrifugation wereprocessed by trichloracetic acid (TCA) and acetone precipitation. TCAwas added to each supernatant to a final concentration of 15% and theprecipitates were allowed to form at 4° C. overnight. Precipitatedproteins were collected by centrifugation at 16,000×g for 30 min and thepellets were washed twice with ice-cold acetone and finally resuspendedin 2×SDS sample buffer for analysis.

Fluorescent Plate Reader Assay.

One hundred microliters of cell-free conditioned media was transferredto each well of a 96-well black microtiter plate (Corning Incorporated,NY). These were assayed for fluorescence on a Tecan GENEios fluorimeter(Tecan Group, Switzerland) with excitation wavelength 485 nm andemission wavelength 515 nm. Conditioned media from pQBI-GFP-transfectedand untransfected cells were used as positive and negative control,respectively.

Immunoblot Analysis.

Cells and vesicle proteins were analyzed by Western blot analysis. Thecell or vesicles protein samples were separated by SD-SPAGE on a 4-20%Tris-HCl Criterion precast gel (Bio-Rad Laboratories, Hercules, Calif.)and electrophoretically transferred to the nitrocellulose membrane. Themembrane was washed in Tris-buffered saline (TBS) for 5 min, blockedwith 5% nonfat milk in TTBS (TBS with 0.1% Tween 20) for 1 h by shakingat room temperature, processed for immunoblotting using a specific firstprimary antibody with shaking at 4° C. overnight, followed by asecondary HRP-conjugated IgG (H+L) antibody. Protein bands were detectedby Western Blotting Luminol Reagent (Santa Cruz Biotechnology, Inc.,Santa Cruz, Calif.) followed by an exposure to photographic film (BioMaxfilm; Fisher Scientific, Pittsburgh, Pa.). In some experiments, themembrane was stripped using a stripping reagent (Pierce, Rockford, Ill.)and used to hybridize with a different primary and secondary antibody.The X-ray films were scanned into Adobe Photoshop 5.0.2 and arranged forpublication in Adobe Illustrator 10 (Adobe Systems, San Jose, Calif.).

Nef Protein Sequence Alignment.

The consensus Nef amino acid sequence for each HIV-1 clade (A through O)was determined by alignment of individual Nef variant sequencesdownloaded from the HIV Sequence Database (Los Alamos NationalLaboratory) using the algorithms in GENEious Pro 4.0.2 (Biomatters Ltd.,Auckland, NZ). Specifically, alignments were generated using a Blosum62Cost Matrix, with a gap opening penalty=12 and gap extension penalty=3.The 13 HIV-1 clade consensus sequences thus determined were thensubmitted for alignment in GENEious Pro, using the same parameters.

Data Analysis.

The numerical and graphic analyses of all data obtained were obtainedthrough analysis using at least three repetitions of each experiment.Data were calculated and graphs were generated using SigmaPlot 10(Systat, San Jose, Calif.). One-sided Student's t-test analysis was usedto compare data conditions.

Exosome Secretion.

As shown in FIG. 1, when Nef-GFP is transfected in Jurkat cells, AChEand CD45 (exosomal marker proteins) are released also. This suggeststhat more of these two proteins were secreted from Nef-GFP-transfectedcells (FIG. 1B, lower panel set; FIG. 1C) than from untransfected cells(FIG. 1B, top panel set; FIG. 1C). Nef-GFP-transfected cells alsodisplay an increase in intracellular AChE and CD45 concomitant with AChErelease (FIG. 1A, UT vs. Nef, AChE; FIG. 1C) or CD45 release (FIG. 1A,UT vs. Nef, CD45; FIG. 1C) while no change in intracellular tubulin isobserved (FIG. 1A, UT vs. Nef, tubulin). This clearly establishes a Nefprotein-induced increase in intracellular AChE and CD45 concomitant withrelease of Nef, AChE, and CD45 in high-molecular-weight format. This isconsistent with intracellularly expressed Nef-inducing secretion ofvesicles containing Nef, AChE, and CD45.

Nef Protein is Found in Vesicular Form and not in Soluble Form.

If Nef is associated with vesicles, some fraction of the secretedmaterial should be membrane associated. This can be demonstrated bysubjecting the pelleted material from the cell supernatants to membraneflotation. Thus, Jurkat cell cultures were transfected with pQBI-Nef-GFPexpressing full-length HIV-1 NL4-3 Nef, and the conditioned media fromthese and from untransfected cells were collected, lysed, assayed fortotal protein, and stored for Western analysis. Conditioned cell mediawere spun at 1200×g for 10 min, the supernatant was collected, and analiquot of this was set aside for Western analysis. The bulk of thematerial was subjected to differential centrifugation at 10,000×g,50,000×g, 200,000×g, and 400,000×g and the pellets from each spin werecollected. The 50,000×g pellet was set aside to be assayed, aliquots ofthe 200,000×g and 400,000×g pellets were set aside for assay, and thebulk of these two pellets was loaded onto sucrose gradients andsubjected to flotation centrifugation. Fractions from each gradient werecollected and were assayed. Finally, the spent supernatant from the400,000×g differential centrifugation step was TCA precipitated and thepellet was resuspended in a small volume to be assayed. Each of thesecollected samples was assayed by SDS-PAGE and Western analysis probingfor Nef, G F P, and Alix, an exosomal marker. Representative Westernblot images for untransfected cultures and NefGFP-expressing culturesare shown in FIG. 2A with collated densitometric measurements ofmultiple gradients shown in FIG. 2B.

As shown in FIG. 2B, all of the Nef protein in the conditioned cellmedia was pelleted in the differential centrifuge steps and was found inthe floated fractions of the flotation gradients. In contrast, no(soluble) Nef protein or GFP was detected in the 400,000×g spentsupernatant fraction (data not shown). Second, in the flotationgradients of pelleted vesicles, the peak band densities for Nef, GFP,and Alix were detected in gradient fractions 6-8 (FIG. 2B, lanes 7-9).The vesicle preparations floated at a sucrose density of 1.11-1.17,which is similar to flotation data reported for exosomes fromB-lymphocytes (Raposo et al., J. Exp. Med., 183(3):1161-1172, 1996).Third, the amount of Alix (as measured by band densities) in all fourfractions assayed was larger in the Nef-GFP-expressing cultures than inthe untransfected cultures (FIG. 2B; all p values were less than 0.01).Furthermore, the difference in amount of Alix in Nef-GFP expressing vs.untransfected cell lysates and supernatants was smaller than thatobserved for untransfected cell lysates vs. supernatants (FIG. 2B).Finally, Nef, GFP, and Alix densitometric measurements in thedifferential centrifugations and the sucrose flotation gradient werefound to be approximately equivalent. All this suggests that Nefincreases intracellular expression of at least some specific proteins,and is released from transfected cells in vesicular form and in vesiclescontaining the exosomal marker Alix.

The Genetics of Exosome Secretion.

The N-terminal 70 amino acids of Nef are sufficient to induce secretion.As shown above, Nef-GFP transfected into cells appears to induce release(secretion) of itself in high-molecular-weight form along with AChE andCD45. This suggests that sequences or motif(s) on Nef protein activelyinduce and regulate this release/secretion function. Truncation mutantsdeleting various lengths of the C-terminal region—NefΔ31-206GFP,NefΔ51-206GFP, NefΔ71-206GFP, NefΔ91-206GFP, NefΔ151-206GFP, andNefΔ201-206GFP (FIG. 4A)—were developed to examine their ability toinduce secretion of Nef-GFP into the conditioned media using transienttransfection of HEK293 cells (FIG. 6A). The clone pQBI-Nef-GFP (wt inFIG. 6A), containing the full-length HIV-I NL4-3 Nef, was used as apositive control, while pQBI-GFP, containing only the GFP sequence, wasused as a negative control in some experiments. Media collected from thecells transfected with pQBI-NefΔ71-206GFP (1-70 in FIG. 6A),pQBI-NefΔ91-206GFP (1-90 in FIG. 6A), pQBI-NefΔ151-206GFP (1-150 in FIG.6A), and pQBI-NefΔ201-206GFP (1-200 in FIG. 6A) displayed fluorescencecomparable to the cells transfected with full-length nef-containingplasmid. Alternatively, conditioned media from cells transfected withpQBI-NefΔ31-206GFP (1-30 in FIG. 6A) and pQBI-NefΔ51-206GFP (1-50 inFIG. 6A) displayed only background levels of fluorescence comparable tothe negative control. These results showed that the N-terminal 70 aa ofHIV-1 Nef were sufficient to induce secretion of the Nef-GFP proteininto the conditioned media.

The PACS Motif (²⁻⁶⁵E) was Required for Nef-Induced Vesicle Secretion.

Because the first 70 amino acids of Nef were sufficient for thesecretion of Nef-GFP but the first 50 amino acids were not, it wasanticipated that a secretion regulatory motif was within amino acids50-70. There were two known motifs within this 20-amino acid region: (1)amino acids 51-61 are the apoptotic motif (James et al., J. Virol.,78(6):3099-3109, 2004) and (2) amino acids 62-65 are the phosphofurinacidic cluster sequence (PACS) motif (Piguet et al., Nat. Cell Biol.,2(3):163-167, 2000). The PACS replacement mutant clonepQBI-Net⁶²EEEE⁶⁵/4AGFP (PACS in FIG. 6B) was constructed by replacingthe four glutamic acid residues with four alanine residues as describedin Materials and Methods (FIG. 4B). As shown in FIG. 6B, conditionedmedia collected from cells transfected with pQBI-Net⁶²EEEE⁶⁵/4AGFP hadonly background fluorescence whereas pQBI-NefΔ71-206GFP (1-70 in FIG.6B) had fluorescence comparable to that of pQBI-NefGFP (wt in FIG. 6B).This result suggested that the PACS region of HIV-1 Nef is a secretionregulatory motif.

The Helix-1 Domain but not the Myristoylation Domain is Required for NefSecretion.

Within the N-terminal 70 amino acids, five distinct motifs have beenidentified as being involved in membrane interactions (FIG. 5A). Theseinclude the myristoylation region (amino acid 2), basic amino acidregion 1 (BAA-1; Lys4 and Lys7), basic amino acid region 2 (BAA-2;Arg17, 19, 21, 22), which overlaps with helix-1 (Trp13-Arg21), thehelix-2 (Ser34-Gly41; Geyer et al., J. Mol. Biol., 289(1):123-138, 1999)and the plasma membrane targeting domain (PMTD, Gly41-Ala60). Similardomains are also found in SIV-Nef (FIG. 5B). It was possible that theseor other as yet unidentified domains were also required for Nef-inducedsecretion. Several truncation mutants with N-terminal amino acidsdeleted (pQBI-Nef Δ1-12GFP and pQBI-Nef Δ1-40GFP) were constructed bydeleting 1-12 aa (myristoylation region and BAA-1 were deleted) and 1-40aa (BAA-2/helix-1 and helix-2 were deleted), respectively. Nofluorescence was observed in the conditioned media collected fromcultures transfected with pQBI-Nef Δ1-40GFP (41-70 in FIG. 6A), butconditioned media from pQBI-Nef Δ1-12GFP (13-206 in FIG. 6A),pQBID1-12/D71-206GFP (13-70 in FIG. 6A), and pQBI-NefΔ71-206GFP (1-70 inFIG. 6A) exhibited fluorescence intensity comparable to that ofpQBI-NefGFP (wt in FIG. 6A). Cultures transfected with the mutantpQBI-NefG2A (G2A in FIG. 6B) and pQBI-NefK4K7/2A (NefK4K7 in FIG. 6B)also displayed fluorescence levels comparable to the wild-typeconstruct, confirming the data obtained with deletion constructs. Thisindicated that the myristoylation domain and basic region 1 were notinvolved in Nef-induced secretion, whereas either the helix-1 or -2regions, or another, as yet, unidentified domain between 13 and 41 aawas required for the secretion.

The Basic Amino Acid Motif in Helix-1 is Required for Secretion.

To determine what domain(s) between 13 and 41 aa was required for thesecretion, several mutant clones were constructed (FIG. 4B). These werepQBI-Nef^(17,19,21,22)R/4AGFP, in which the four basic arginines ofBAA-2/helix-1 were replaced with four alanines; pQBI-NefK/PGFP, in whicha proline was inserted in place of ³⁹K as a helix breaker in helix-2;and pQBI-Nef^(45,46)S/AGFP, in which the PMTD was mutated replacing thetwo serines at positions 45 and 46 with two alanines. The mutations inpQBI-Nef³⁹K/PGFP (FIG. 6B, K39P) and pQBI-Nef^(45,46)S/AGFP (FIG. 6B,SS4546AA) had no effect on secretion of fluorescence in the conditionedmedia from transfected cultures comparable to that of thepQBI-NefΔ71-206GFP (FIG. 6B, 1-70) or pQBI-NefGFP (FIG. 6B, wt).Cultures transfected with pQBI-Nef^(17,19,21,22)R/4AGFP (FIG. 6B, 4R4A)had significantly decreased fluorescence in the conditioned mediasuggesting that basic region 2 in helix-1 is important for Nefsecretion.

Other Previously Unexplored Sequences on Nef are Required for Secretion.

To determine the minimum N-terminal sequence required for secretion weconstructed a C-terminal truncation removing all amino acids after thePACS motif (pQBI-NefΔ66-206GFP; FIG. 4A). A significant decrease in thefluorescence in the conditioned media from cells transfected with thisconstruct was observed (FIG. 6A, 1-65). This suggested that a thirdsecretion regulatory motif lay within the amino acids 66-70 (VGFPV; seeFIG. 5A). Using an alanine replacement mutant clone,pQBI-Nef⁶⁶VGFPV⁷⁰GFP, with amino acids ⁶⁶VGFPV⁷⁰ replaced with fivealanines, significantly decreased fluorescence was observed inconditioned media collected from these cultures (FIG. 6B, VGFPV/5A).Thus, this region, a domain not previously described in the literaturethat we named the secretion modification region (SMR), is a third regionimportant for Nef secretion.

A phylogenetic analysis of HIV-1 Nef amino acids 1-70 intra-B-clade andacross all HIV-1 clades found that the secretion domains are highlyconserved within the SMR region. with the newly identified. The SMR was100% conserved across all HIV-1 clades. This evidence indicates therelevance of these domains, particularly in a virus that displays highsequence variability. Further, domain conservation was also found toapply when the N-terminal sequences of HIV-1 and SIV were compared (datanot shown). Although most of the Nef secretion regulatory sequences werefound in the Nterminal 102 amino acids of SIV Nef, the three functionalmotifs in association with Nef secretion in high-molecularweight formare very similar to HIV and comprise two BAA regions, a PACS domain andan SMR-like region located immediately downstream of the PACS.

To characterize the SMR more fully, an individual alanine replacementanalysis was performed. Five clones were developed containing thefull-length nef gene with nucleotides coding for one of the five aminoacids of the SMR replaced with nucleotides for alanine (see FIG. 4B;lanes 5-9). Alanine replacement mutants V66A, G67A, and V70A eachdisplayed only background levels (FIG. 6C, AGFPV, VAFPV, VGFPA; 1.8%,2%, 1.9%, respectively), similar to the ones measured by thepQBI-GFP-negative control (FIG. 6C, pQBI-GFP; ˜1.7%), of extracellularfluorescence in the conditioned media collected from the transfectedcultures. Alanine replacement mutant P69A displayed a small butreproducible amount of extracellular fluorescence (FIG. 6C, VGFAV; ˜6%)compared to the positive control. Alanine replacement mutant F68Adisplayed a reduced but significant amount of extracellular fluorescence(FIG. 6C, VGAPV; ˜30%) in the conditioned media as compared to thepositive control. Thus, three of the five amino acids are critical forsecretion, with single mutations in any one of those three leading tocomplete elimination of the ability of Nef to induce secretion of itselfin vesicles.

The amino acids between R22, the C-terminal amino acid in the BAA-2motif in helix-1 and E62, the N-terminal amino acid in the PACS domain,were also screened using alanine replacement identifying several aminoacids that influence secretion. These clones were developed in thefull-length nef background. The pQBI-NefP25A-GFP clone (FIG. 4B)displayed background amounts of extracellular fluorescence (FIG. 6B,P25A; ˜4%) in the conditioned media as compared to the positive control.pQBI-Nef²⁹GVG³¹3 A (FIG. 4B) and pQBI-NefT44A-GFP clone (FIG. 4B) alsodisplayed background amounts of extracellular fluorescence (FIG. 6B,29GVG31/3A, 4%; T44A, 4% respectively).

These Domains are Relevant in Other Cell Lineages.

The initial secretion analysis described above was performed in HEK293cells. These cells are easily transfectable and do not normally secretvesicles. Thus, they are optimal for viewing secretion and identifyingchanges in the secretion ability although not a normal target for viralinfection. More appropriate would be Nef secretion analysis of theseconstructs in either lymphocytic or monocytic cell lines as theselineages are targets of HIV infection. Specific Nef mutants describedabove were analyzed in a lymphocytic cell line (Jurkat cells) and in twomonocytic lines (THP-1 and U937 cells; FIG. 6). ThepQBI-Nef^(17,19,21,22)R/4AGFP mutant clone (BAA-2 region knockdown), thepQBI-Nef⁶²EEEE⁶⁵/4AGFP mutant clone (PACS region knockdown), and thepQBI-NefV⁶⁵AGFP mutant clone (SMR region substitution mutationknockdown) all displayed extracellular fluorescence levels inlymphocytic and monocytic cells similar to those observed in HEK293cells. There was some variation in the extracellular fluorescence levelsof the truncation mutant's transfected in lymphocytic (FIG. 6D, 1-70,13-70, 13-206) and monocytic cell lines (FIG. 6E or 6F, 1-70, 13-70,13-206) relative to each other or to HEK293 cells (FIG. 6A, 1-70, 13-70,13-206). However, the variations observed were not significant and thetrend for each of these truncation mutants was for them to displaywild-type or close to wild-type levels of fluorescence.

Phylogenetic Analysis Across HIV Clades.

The genetic analysis of Nef secretion was performed using HIV-1 NL4-3Nef. A logical next step was to determine the conservation of theidentified secretion domains across HIV B Glade viruses and across theother HIV-1 clades uncovering the relative importance of these domains.An analysis of that region of Nef involved in secretion (amino acids1-70) demonstrates significant sequence conservation within thesecretion domains across all HIV-1 clades (FIG. 7). Interestingly, theSMR domain, which was always found contiguous to and C-terminal of thePACS domain, displayed 100% sequence conservation across all the HIVclades suggesting the importance of these sequences.

HIV Nef Expressed in Cells is not Toxic/Apoptotic to Transfected Cells.

One alternative explanation of the effects being observed is thatendogenous Nef protein causes toxicity to the cells in which it isexpressed, leading to those cells releasing Nef protein in apoptoticmicrovesicles or microparticles. Prior studies of cells releasingputative exosomes have shown that cells in the early stages of apoptosisrelease membrane vesicles that are very similar to vesicles released byhealthy cells (e.g., exosomes; Thery et al., J. Immunol.,166(12):7309-7318, 2001; Aupeix et al., J. Clin. Invest.,99(7):1546-1554, 1997). However, the protein composition of theapoptotic vesicles was different from that of the exosomal vesicles. Forexample, the apoptotic vesicles contained large amounts of histones asopposed to little or no histone protein found in the exosomal vesicles.

It was previously shown that soluble recombinant Nef (rNef) protein andthe conditioned supernatant from Nef-transfected cells are apoptotic tonaive cells expressing CXCR4 (Huang et al., J. Virol.,78(20):11084-11096, 2004). Thus, it is possible that theseNef-containing vesicles represent apoptotic vesicles. To evaluate thispossibility, cells were transfected with the various Nef-GFP constructsfor cell death and apoptosis (FIG. 8) and the supernatant/vesiclesreleased from the Nef-transfected cells were examined for histonecontent in the vesicles, a marker of apoptotic vesicles (FIG. 9).

HEK293 cells were transfected with specific Nef constructs describedabove, and the cell populations were stained with PI. These cells wereanalyzed for GFP fluorescence (NefGFP expression), PI fluorescence(necrotic cells hallmark of cell death), and coincidence of PI and GFP(dying cells expressing Nef) in the cells (FIG. 8A). Endogenouslyexpressed GFP fluorescence, a measure of Nef expression, for alltreatments ranged between 70% and 80% and did not vary significantly. PIfluorescence, a measure of cell death, varied from 3% (pQBI-GFP; FIG.8A, PI measure) in the negative control and the Nef mutants to ˜12%(pQBI-NefGFP; FIG. 8A, PI measure) in the transfections with wtNef-GFP.Thus, wtNef-GFP protein expressed within the cells does increase theamount of cell death by about 4-fold with about half of that cell deathoccurring in the transfected cells (see FIG. 8A, wtNef-GFP, GFP/PIoverlay measure). However, the total amount of cell death remainedmodest.

HEK293 cells were transfected with wild-type pQBI-Nef-RFP and then TUNELlabeled for detection or earlier signs of apoptosis in the form of DNAfragmentation. These cells were analyzed for RFP fluorescence (Nef-RFPexpression), TUNEL (apoptosis), and the coincidence of RFP and TUNEL(apoptotic cells expressing Nef) in the cells (FIG. 8B). Endogenouslyexpressed RFP fluorescence, a measure of Nef expression, for alltreatments ranged between 75% and 80% and did not vary significantly.FITC fluorescence, in TUNEL-labeled apoptotic cells, ranged from 2%(pQBI-RFP, FIG. 8B, RFP measure) in the negative control to ˜12%(pQBI-Nef-RFP, TUNEL measure) in the transfections with wtNef. Again,wtNef protein expressed within cells increased the amount of apoptosisby about 6-fold with half of that apoptosis occurring in the transfectedcells (see FIG. 8B, wtNef-RFP, RFP/TUNEL overlay measure). Again, thetotal amount of cell death in the population was very modest.

Thus, evidence for direct and indirect induction of apoptosis waspresent but minimal. Next, to see whether transfected cells releasedhistone-containing apoptotic vesicles into the conditioned supernatant,HEK293 cells were either treated with camptothecin, anapoptosis-inducing factor (FIG. 9A, lanes 1 and 2), or transfected withpQBI-NefGFP (FIG. 9A, lanes 3 and 4), pQBI-Nef⁶⁶VGFPV⁷⁰GFP (FIG. 9A,lanes 5 and 6), or pQBI-GFP (FIG. 9A, lanes 7 and 8). The 48 h cultureswere harvested for the conditioned media and the cell lysates. Theconditioned media from each treatment were subjected to differentialcentrifugation with four sequential centrifugation steps of 300×g,1200×g, 10,000×g, and finally 130,000×g. A silver-stained SDS-PAGEanalysis of the cell lysates (FIG. 9A, lanes 1, 3, 5, and 7) and130,000×g pellets (FIG. 9A, lanes 2, 4, 6, and 8) was examined for theprotein composition of those two fractions. The banding pattern in thecamptothecin-treated cells (FIG. 9A, lanes 1 and 2) was distinct fromthe other three transfection treatments (FIG. 9A, lanes 3-8).

To specifically look at the histones in these treatment conditions,SDS-PAGE analyses of the cell lysate of each treatment and the pelletsfrom each centrifugation step were screened by Western analysis (FIG.9A). This was done with (1) a histone polyclonal antibody (FIG. 9B,first panel set) to screen and quantify histones, (2) a GFP antibody(FIG. 9B, second panel set), and (3) an HIV-1 Nef antibody (FIG. 9B,third panel set). The camptothecin-treated cells (FIG. 9B, histone set,panel one) displayed a histone band in both the cell lysate as well asin all four differential centrifugation-generated pellets as expectedfollowing camptothecin-induced apoptosis: histones were detected in boththe cell lysates and vesicles released in the supernatants. Incomparison, HEK293 transfected with pQBI expressing wtNef, SMR mutatedNef, or untransfected control, histone bands are detected only in thecell lysates and in the low-speed centrifugations (300×g and 1200×g) inwhich cellular debris is normally pelleted. This suggests that Neftransfection does not result in significant release of apoptotichistone-containing vesicles. The transfected and wtNef-GFP-expressingcultures analyzed by GFP antibodies (FIG. 9B, GFP set, panel two) or byNef antibodies (FIG. 9B, Nef set, panel two) display Nef-GFP protein inboth the cell lysate as well as in all four differential centrifugationconditions. This indicates that Nef is there in a high-molecular-weightformat indicative of Nef-containing vesicles.

The evidence suggests that despite finding an increased (but smalltotal) amount of cell death/apoptosis in the Nef-transfected cells, thevesicles released from these cultures have very little if any histonesin them, suggesting a morphology distinct from apoptotic vesicles.Alternatively, they do have Nef-GFP in them, suggesting that theNef-containing vesicles may be exosomes.

The Effect of Nef Mutants was not Due to Variable Expression.

The effects observed in the various mutants could be due to variation inthe ability of each clone to express the resultant fusion protein andnot due to differences in their ability to secrete the fusion protein.This issue was addressed by examining the expression pattern ofuntransfected and transfected HEK293 cells by Western analysis of wholecell extracts probed with anti-Nef antibody (FIG. 10A) or anti-GFPantibody (FIG. 10B). Cultures were transfected with pQBI-Nef-GFP(Nef-GFP; FIG. 10, lane 1), pQBI-GFP (GFP; FIG. 10, lane 2),pQBI-Nef⁶²EEEE⁶⁵/4AGFP (PACS; FIG. 10, lane 3), pQBI-NefV66/A (SMRAGFPV, FIG. 10, lane 4), pQBI-Nef^(17,19,21,22)R/4AGFP (Basic Region 2,FIG. 10, lane 5), or untransfected (FIG. 10, lane 6). FIG. 10D is thedensitometric analysis of FIGS. 10A-C. The Nef and GFP band densities inthe mutant expressing cultures are similar (FIG. 10D). Alternatively, asignificant difference was observed in the band densities ofwtNef-GFP-expressing cells vs. the Nef mutant-expressing cells (FIG.10D, wtNef-GFP vs. all others). This suggests that NefGFP protein madeand released in the wtNef-GFP-expressing cells accumulates within themutant Nef-GFP-expressing cells.

The above description is for the purpose of teaching the person ofordinary skill in the art how to practice the present invention, and itis not intended to detail all those obvious modifications and variationsof it which will become apparent to the skilled worker upon reading thedescription. It is intended, however, that all such obviousmodifications and variations be included within the scope of the presentinvention, which is defined by the following claims. The claims areintended to cover the claimed components and steps in any sequence whichis effective to meet the objectives there intended, unless the contextspecifically indicates the contrary.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for inducing an immune response in amammal, comprising administering to a mammal an exosome comprising aNef-fusion protein comprising a Nef-derived peptide fused to animmunogenic protein of interest, wherein said Nef-derived peptidecomprises SEQ ID NO:3, 4, 5 or
 6. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein saidimmunogenic protein comprises at least a portion of a tumor antigen. 3.The method of claim 1, wherein said exosome is isolated from anantigen-presenting cell.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein saidNef-derived peptide comprises SEQ ID NO:3.
 5. The method of claim 1,wherein said Nef-derived peptide comprises SEQ ID NO:4.
 6. The method ofclaim 1, wherein said Nef-derived peptide comprises SEQ ID NO:5.
 7. Themethod of claim 1, wherein said Nef-derived peptide comprises SEQ IDNO:6.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein said exosome is further loadedwith a member from the group consisting of antigens, peptides, smallmolecule drugs, and siRNA.
 9. The method of claim 1, wherein saidimmunogenic protein comprises at least a portion of a tumor antigen. 10.The method of claim 1, wherein said Nef-fusion protein further comprisesone or more functional domains.
 11. The method of claim 10, wherein theone or more functional domains are selected from the group consisting ofaffinity tags, protease cleavage sites, targeting domains, reporters andenzymes.
 12. The method of claim 10, wherein the one or more functionaldomains comprise one or more targeting domains selected from the groupconsisting of antibodies, antibody derivatives, peptide ligands,receptor ligands, receptor fragments and hormones.
 13. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the Nef-derived peptide and the immunogenic protein ofinterest are heterologous to one another.